Little Black Dress

As soon as Shuule was in the cave, she was striking a flint to light their candles, which were melted down and would need to be replaced soon. She made a mental note to scout out some bees, though she knew it was better to harvest the hives for honey and wax in the winter, when they too were hibernating, because they would be slow to attack. Set crawled in behind her, stifling and groan as every fiber of his body ached. There were not many times that he wanted to shift into a full human, but not wanting to lug a long battered body around his cave was high on the list, so he found a lion hide skirt he had recently made for himself (he had no need for clothes prior to finding his mate) and quickly changed into his legs and dressed himself while Shuule had her back turned busying herself with the candles.

"Oh!" Shuule was taken off guard when she turned around and saw him. He was tall, his legs longer than she expected, but what confused her brain more than his legs was the lack of a massive snake tail taking up room behind him. She ran up to him, wavering to hug him, but fearful she would hurt him. There was some strange overwhelming emotion seeing Set fully human for the first time, but he opened his arms and pulled her into his embrace, hugging her over to his side that didn't have the bear bite in it. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, where she knew he didn't have any cuts.

"You're tall!" she exclaimed.

"Did you think I would be short?" Set asked, Shuule rolling her eyes while realizing she was high on her toes to even remotely reach his shoulders. By female standards she was actually quite tall, and very toned and strong given both her natural abilities and the fact that she pulled her weight all day, but she still was nowhere near Set's height. And even though she could shift, she was small by any male standard.

"Anyway," Set continued, releasing her from his arms and stepping back so he could rummage in the wall hole behind him. "You're a mess, but.... try this on. It's... a gift."

Sometimes Shuule thought he said these things just to rile her, scrunching her face, but pinning her ears, she could feel her long orange hair was indeed a rats nest. Sweating in the hot sun working on her meat processing, and then crashing down the rocks to tend to Set's wounds had not been a particularly blissful day. Clawing through her hair and pulling it back into a knot on top of her head, she was eager to see the gift; and her eyes grew wide when she saw the cloth presented to her.

Not much good was ever said about snakes, but they were known for their craftsmanship, and their first shed skin. They hid away this cloth for years, sometimes for a lifetime, saving it for their spouse to make her clothes with. Their ability to sew was second to none, though it wasn't enough for them to be accepted in society, since most were too wild and feral to want to be, in the first place. They were undesirable to most women, so they weren't allowed into villages if they weren't already mated for fear they would steal a female. If they were mated, people were still genuinely afraid they may eat other beasts, which, given the events of today.... But the opposite was also true. Strong males had been known to invade a snake's home, kill them, and take their shed skin in order to impress their spouses. Now that Shuule knew about the Legacies, it was no wonder snakes were wary of others, if they knew the history of their kin being slaughtered even when they were staying to themselves.

"It's not the only one you'll get," Set quickly explained as he held out the two piece. "I want to make you something... stunning, but it will take time, and this is good for the season."

Beaming, Shuule grinned from ear to ear, almost ready to burst. She had been waiting to be presented with the snakeskin clothes since the day she entered the cave for the first time and found the yards of cloth. It was cool to the touch, breathable, yet flame proof, and water proof - another reason snakes were so formidable. At the time she just envied the cloth, but after Set and her admitted they wanted a spousalship, she had been waiting eagerly to see if he really wanted to give her his heart.

"I can turn around when you put it on," Set continued, but Shuule, the one who wanted to consecrate the relationship weeks ago, had already started untying her top at the base of her neck, and Set's heart all but stopped at seeing her bare breasts as the fox fur fell away. He had seen them before - when she was upset and he got her out of her wet clothes to lie down - but this was different. Her olive skin shone in the low candle light while she gave him a sheepish smile. Shuule wasn't going to press this very strange male, but she wasn't going to apologize for.... trying. Moving past his outstretched hands, she tipped her toes back up to lean in for a kiss, her breasts pressed onto Set's chest. It took every ounce of his strength not to drop her gift onto the dirt floor and take her right there, but he still... Selfishly, he was vying for his mark to not just not be on her foot, but to be better than neutral. And after revealing that he had been feeding her beastmen, albeit for a good cause, just a few moments ago, he was not confident.

Without missing a beat, Shuule turned around, showing her back to him. "Put it on me," She requested quietly. Set gave a low hiss that was only meant for himself, his free hand lightly tracing the line from the nape of her neck, down her spine, to the small of her back. No. Not yet. Reaching over her head, he draped the top over her, first tying the halter top behind her neck, and then the second tie around her ribcage.

"Please," he croaked, "You can put the skirt on yourself."

Shuule chirped, a noise only the fox clan really made but was very obvious a girlish giggle, but she did as he asked, his eyes averted to the stone wall until he knew she was finished.

The two piece was meticulously sewn while Shuule was asleep, a black iridescent halter top with lines that imitated being crossed in front of her chest, but was much more secure. The bottom was a wraparound skirt, nearly knee length with a slit on the left side that would allow her to move her legs as much as she needed to run or climb. Set had taken the time to cut the red stripes from his markings, and run them as accents both crossing her chest, and also on the top edge of the skirt, with a cross stitch pattern running down the back.

Set stepped back and crossed his arms, taking in his handy work as Shuule spun lightly in the weighty cloth.

"The first of many to come," he stated.